Fuel mixture vaporizer



May 14, 1957 "A. K. MALOUF FUEL MIXTURE VAPORIZER 3 Sheets-Sheet -1 Filed Aug. 16, 1954 421/040 z. M44 aw,

INVENTOR.

,QTTOEUZ V May 14, 1957 A. K. MALOUF 7 2,792,290

FUEL. MIXTURE VAPORIZER Filed Aug. 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i k 45 a p75 Z flEA/OLD z. Mm our,

INVENTOR.

arrow/5V This invention relates to vaporizing devices, and particularly to a vaporizing or atomizing device for treating a combination of liquid fuel and air for use in internal combustion engines.

Devices for vaporizing or atomizing a liquid fuel are known, as evidenced by U. S. Patent No. 2,484,778 of October 11, 1949, showing a vane type rotary element, and U. S. Patent No. 1,806,404 of May 19, 1931, showing a rotary sphere type of element. The present invention is of the latter type, but one which is suitable for positioning in a stream of liquid fuel and air moving downwardly and one which uses a special type of spherical rotating element or ball.

The present unit is adapted to be positioned below the butterfly valve of a standard carburetor and in the vertical portion of the manifold leading to the engine cylinders. It is in the form of a vertical cage holding a rotatable ball, the cage being attached to an air scoop which reverses the downward motion of a portion of the mixture of air and fuel from the carburetor so that the mixture is directed upwardly under the ball. The ball is lifted, and by a special series of notches cut in the ball, it is forced to rotate in the mixture at a high speed, which atomizes or vaporizes any liquid fuel particles in the neighborhod of the ball, as well as those actually contacting the ball.

The construction of the unit provides a high efiiciency of vaporization or mixing of the liquid fuel with the air, while the unit itself is rugged and has a long life, there being no friction between the ball and its cage during operation, and thus no wear.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to facilitate the vaporization or atomizing of liquid fuel.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved vaporizer for liquid fuel used for internal combustion engines.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved unit for use with down-draft carburetors for floating and rotating a spherical element in the stream of fuel and air mixture flow.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention, both as to the manner of its organi- Zation and the mode of its operation, will be better understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a standard carburetor for use with internal combustion motors.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rotating ball element used in the invention.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, and

States Patent g 2,792,290 Patented May 14, 1957 5 J V we Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an arrangement of two units in a manifold.

Referring now to the drawings, in which the same numerals identify like elements, the carburetor shown in Fig. 1 has the usual air filter 5 and mixing and float chamber 6 connected to a conduit 7 feeding an engine manifold 8 through coupling 9. As shown in Fig. 2, the conduits 7 and 8 are bolted together by bolts 10 and 11. A circular flange 13 is positioned between the shoulders of the two conduits and to which is attached along approximately one-quarter of its length an air or fuel mixture scoop 20. As shown in Fig. 5, the scoop has a curvature corresponding to the curvature of manifold conduit 8, and as shown in Fig. 2, a right angle curvature to change the direction of flow of the mixture degrees.

Attached to the bottom flange 22 of the scoop 20 by any suitable means, such as a rivet 23, is a cylindrical form of cage made up of two similar sections 25 and 26 bolted or riveted together by rivets such as shown at 27. The section 25 has three vertical ribs and two vertical openings 30 and 31, and section 26 has three similar ribs and vertical openings 32 and 33. The section 26 differs from section 25 in that section 26 has a lower opening 35 communicating with the bottom of scoop 20, the same positioned portion 36 of section 25 being substantially'spherical. Thus, air from the scoop 20 is directed through opening 35 against portion 36 and then upwardly into the cage through an opening 38 between elements 25--26.

Positioned within the cage 25-26 is a spherical unit or ball 37 which has been notched or grooved with two series of notches lying in parallel planes. There are three notches in each series, the notches having increasing cross sections, and the notches of one series being positioned alternately with respect to the notches of the other series. A notch of one series is shown at 39 and two notches of the other series are partially shown at 40 and 41. From the cross-sectional view of Fig. 4 through the plane of one set of notches is shown the alternate arrangement of the notches.

This form of notching of the ball 37 not only maintains it in the same plane of rotation but permits a very slow velocity of air or fuel mixture to rotate the ball at very high speeds. As the scoop and cage are located below the lower section 42 of the butterfly valve, generally indicated at 43 in Fig. 2, the major portion of the mixture will be directed toward the scoop 20 until the valve is in a vertical position, which is quite infrequently. The high speed of rotation of the ball 37 has been found to increase the vaporization or atomization of the liquid fuel and thus increase the combustion of the fuel and the efficiency of an internal combustion motor.

Referring now to Fig. 7, an arrangement of two cages 45 and 46 is shown, both cages being of the same type as the cage shown in the other figures. The use of two cages permits more air passing from the carburetor to the cylinders of the motor to be directly acted upon by the balls. The cages 45 and 46 use the same type of balls 47 and 48, the cages facing each other within the manifold 8. This arrangement is particularly effective at high speeds with the carburetor nearly wide open.

I claim:

1. In a vaporizer for increasing the vaporization of liquid fuel in a downwardly flowing air stream, the combination of a cylindrical conduit having a substantially vertical axis, a scoop element having a curved open upper section extending along a portion of the curved wall of said conduit for collecting a portion of said air stream, said scoop element having an upper right angle flange for attachment to said conduit and a lower portion extending at right angles to the axis of said conduit, a cage having a vertical axis and mounted on said last-mentioned portion of said scoop element, said cage having a lower opening therein communicating with the lower portion of said scoop element and vertical elongated side openings in and extending over substantially the entire length of said cage and communicating with said conduit,'said cage having a closed top portion for preventing the mixture of liquid fuel and air from being downwardly impressed on the interior of said cage, and a notched ball in said cage adapted to be lifted and rotated by the upward flow of said mixture of liquid fuel and air in said cage.

2. In a vaporizer for increasing the vaporization of liquid fuel in an air stream in a cylindrical conduit having a substantially vertical axis, the combination of a scoop element suspended in the downward path of a mixture of said liquid fuel and air, said element having an open curved section extending around a portion of the inner curved surface of said conduit and downwardly, the lower end of said element being curved to direct said mixture at substantially right angles to its original downwardly direction, a vertical cage attached to the lower end of said element and having a lower opening therein communicating with the lower portion of said element and elongated vertical slots therein, and a ball located in said cage, the air passing through the lower opening of said cage being impressed under said ball for rotating said ball at different positions in said cage depending upon the amount and velocity of said mixture impressed on said ball, said vertical elongated slots in said cage extending over substantially the entire length of said cage to provide varying size exits for the mixture entering through the bottom thereof depending upon the position of said ball in said cage, said cage having a closed top to prevent said mixture of said liquid fuel and air from being impressed on said ball above said ball.

3. A liquid vaporizer fora mixture of air and liquid fuel flowing downwardly in a cylindrical conduit having a substantially vertical axis comprising an open downwardly elongated scoop member curved in two directions, said element extending partially around the inner surface of said conduit, one end of said member extending substantially degrees to the main surface of said member, and a cage having a rotatable ball therein, said cage having one end attached to said one end of said member and an opening thereto communicting with said scoop member, other vertical longitudinal openings along the sides thereof, and a closed top portion, said openings providing varying size exits for said mixture in said cage depending upon the position of said ball in said cage.

4. A liquid vaporizer in accordance with claim 3, in which said cage includes two opposing sections attached together, said sections being ribbed to form said vertical longitudinal openings between said ribs, said first-mentioned opening being at one end of said cage, one of said sections being cupped beyond said first-mentioned openmg. 

3. A LIQUID VAPORIZER FOR A MIXTURE OF AIR AND LIQUID FUEL FLOWING DOWNWARDLY IN A CYLINDRICAL CONDUIT HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AXIS COMPRISING AN OPEN DOWNWARDLY ELONGATED SCOOP MEMBER CURVED IN TWO DIRECTIONS, SAID ELEMENT EXTENDING PARTIALLY AROUND THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID CONDUIT, ONE END OF SAID MEMBER EXTENDING SUBSTIANTIALLY 90 DEGREES TO THE MAIN SURFACE OF SAID MEMBER, AND A CAGE HAVING A ROTATABLE BALL THEREIN, SAID CAGE HAVING ONE END ATTACHED TO SAID ONE END OF SAID MEMBER AND AN OPENING THERETO COMMUNICTING WITH SAID SCOOP MEMBER, OTHER VERTICAL LONGITUDINAL OPENINGS ALONG THE SIDES THEREOF, AND A CLOSED TOP PORTION, SAID OPENINGS PROVIDING 